高二上学期英语听力原文 unit1

　　Listening Texts to Unit One (Students’ Book)

　　1 This woman is one of the greatest scientists of all times. Even her name tells you that she likes science: a good scientist should want to find out answers and ask many questions --- in other words they should be curious. This woman was certainly curious. Together with her husband， she tried to learn the secrets of radioactivity. The couple were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. Eight years later， she received a second Nobel Prize， this time for chemistry.

　　2 It is said that this English gentleman was sitting in his garden one day when suddenly he was hit by a falling apple. The story is probably not true， but this man did mention that he got one of his best-known ideas while watching apples fall from a tree. His name makes you think that he was not too interested in old things. He discovered the force of gravity， and he drew up a system of how objects move. His laws for motion are still used in physics today， at least in schools and universities.

　　3 Food is what sets this great mind on fire. Rice， to be exact. This great mind has spent most of his life looking for ways to help farmers grow more rice so that all of us will have enough food to eat. He is known as the father of modem rice， but because of his long friendship with all the farmers in China， he would rather be known as “the farmer”.

　　Listening Texts to Unit One (Workbook)

　　Part 1

　　Scientists often look at nature in order to find new ideas. In ancient times， Chinese scientists studied how spiders make silk. Modem scientists are interested in the spider， too. A spider can make silk that is much stronger than most man-made materials. A spider’s silk doesn’t break easily. Instead of breaking， it gets longer. Best of all， the spider produces the silk without the use of dangerous or poisonous chemicals. If we could learn to use the technique， we might be able to use the strong silk to make things like seat belts and wires that hold up bridges.

　　Part 2

　　There are many other examples of how new technology has been developed by learning from nature. A group of German scientists wanted to find out why leaves and flowers are able to stay so clean. They decided to take a closer look at the white lotus， a flower that is known for its clean leaves. At first， the scientists believed that a very flat leaf would be better at staying clean. However， when they looked closely at the white lotus， the scientists saw that the leaf was in fact covered with tiny hairs and needles. The needles and hairs collect the dust that falls on the leaf so that a raindrop can easily wash it off. The German scientists used this technique to design a new kind of paint. The new paint could keep houses looking clean for years.

　　Scientists also believe that the butterfly could teach us a way to keep our computers cool. A computer must be kept cool to function well. The fans we use today are not always good enough. The butterfly is cold-blooded and must change its body temperature all the time. Scientists have found that there are small parts on its wings that the butterfly uses to change its temperature. If scientists can learn how this is done， it may be possible to use the same method to keep computers from becoming too hot.